Stop turning left!

If you want to reduce your carbon footprint and save some money in your ever-dwindling fuel budget you may want to stop making those time-consuming and wasteful left turns. This strategy has been implemented by numerous companies, including UPS, FedEX and Home Depot. UPS’s routing software, also used by Home Depot, plans routes for drivers that minimize the number of left turns a driver makes. This measure reduces idling time if drivers have to wait to make the turn. While left turns cannot be completely eliminated, left-turn reductions have reportedly saved UPS over 28.5 million miles of travel, which in turn resulted in over three million gallons of fuel and shaved carbon emissions by 31,000 metric tons. Many companies with freight-shipping operations are changing routes and shipping methods in order to reduce transportation costs. These are necessary strategies that make shipping operations more efficient and prevent excess costs from being passed onto consumers. For now, at least...